Hospital bed



Patented Mar. 10, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

. My invent on relates to beds and more particularly to beds forhospitals and the like, which will provide access 'to the lower portionsof the patients body for examination and/or treatment.

In the prior art, various types of beds and operating tables have beenemployed in examining and treating patients. One such type .is a tablemade in a plurality of parts. One section is provided for the back,another for the pelvis, and still others for the legs and feet. Thespace between the leg sections in this type is too small to provide roomfor the ordinary operations, and the cross-bars provided to support theleg sections prevent the ready access to the pelvic portions of thebody. Another type is a bed whose lower end is pivoted to swingdownwardly. When using this type, the patient is moved toward the footof the bed for examination and/or operation. Moving of the patient toand from the examination position places a great strain upon the doctorand nurse, and movement often subjects the patient to severe pain.

Applicant with a knowledge of all of the defects in and objections tothe prior art has for an object of his invention the provision ofacombination bed, examination and operating or treating table, whichprovides all of the comforts of the ordinary bed, but which may beeasily and quickly converted intoan examination or operating table,thereby conserving space.

Applicant has as another object of his invention the provision of a bed,whith may be easily and quickly converted into an operating orexamination table for use as such withoutv moving the patient from theposition she or he has occupied when using same as a bed. Applicantaccomplishes this result by forming a door centrally of the lower end ofthe bed, leaving longitudinally extending portions on each side of saiddoor, which act as foot rests when the door is lowered and provide readyaccess for purposes of examination, treatment or operation of the pelvicregions or similarly positioned portions of the body.

Applicant has as a still further object of his invention, the provisionof formed centrally of the lower end thereof for raising and lowering tochange it from a .bed to an operating or treating table by the use of'movable pins for engagement with the door in raised position tonormally support it, and disengageable therefrom to permit lowering.Applicant v has as a still further object of his invention the provisionof standards or posts carrying straps,

which posts are mounted in sockets on each side 55 a bed having a door,of the bed adjacent the legs of the patient, in order that the legsmay. be strapped thereto during the operation, examination or treatmentof portions of thebody'in the region of the pelvis,

5 as by treating with radium.

Applicant has as a still further object of his invention, the provisionof a combination bed and operating or treating table, which isparticularly adapted to the use in offices where the conservation ofspace is' necessary.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become more apparentin the following specification and accompanying drawing and the novelfeatures of my inventionwill be particularly pointed out in the annexedclaims. In the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved bed.Figure 2 is a cross-section view of the same bed taken along the line2-2 ofFigure l with the door in dropped position. Figure 3 is afragmental plan view of a portion of the mattress used on my improvedbed. Figure 4 is a sectional view of a detail of the improved pinconnection for supporting the door of my bed.

Referring to the drawing in detail 3 designates 2 the head board of abed which head board carries end 2 of L shape cross-section. Secured toend 2 are rails of angle configuration.

Bridging the lower portion of rails I, I is a bar 4 of angularconfiguration. Hingedly secured to an edge of angle iron or rod 4 andcentrally thereof, is the door defined by frame ll, l5, I1, I 8. Hingesi6 connect the doorto the cross bar 4 of the bed frame. Secured to thebar 4 and projecting longitudinally along the door frame are members I3,l3 having ends 20 that join them to the rails I,

Projecting downwardly from the cross-bar on each side are legs 8 forsupporting said bed and projecting downwardly from the extensions andadjacent the ends 20 are legs I, 9. Threading the ends, rails, door andextensions in criss-cross relation are strands of wire 5, IQ for forminga bottom or mattress supporting means of the usual form.

bridging the legs I, 9 and ends 20, 20 are freely slidable pins 2|, 2|having extensions 25 adapted to seat in recesses or beneath framemembers M,

H, l8 to maintain the head in horizontal position. Centrally of saidpins 2| are downwardly v projecting handles 22, and mounted adjacent theends of pins 2| are collars 23, 24, which are adapted to engage legs 1,9 respectively, for limiting the movement of the pins.

Seated in sockets ill of rails adjacent Mounted in the ends of theextensions and cross-bar 4 are standards or posts II, which projectupwardly and carry on their curved extensions straps l2, which areadapted to encircle the legs! of the patient to maintain them inoutstretched position during treatments in the pelvic regions.

The mattress 21 is adapted to cover the bed with the detached centralinsert or piece 29 coinciding with the door. The strands 30 of thecentral piece are wrapped and tied securely to the frame of the doorwhile such strands as 28 of the mattress body are secured to the bedproper to maintain the main body of the mattress and the insert in theirrelative positions during the movement of the door.

During normal use, the door is in horizontal position by reason ofengagement with the ends 25 of the pins 2|. In this position thestructure takes the form of an ordinary bed upon which the patient maylie in any desired position with comfort. When it is desired to examine,operate or treat the patient in the pelvic region the handles 22 aremoved apart and their ends 25 are.

disengaged from the door permitting such door to swing downwardly. Ifdone simply for the purpose of examination, the feet or even the legsmay rest upon the extensions on either side of the door. This givesample room for examination.

If radium is being administered, the legs are placed in the straps orstirrups I2 and the feet are permitted torest upon the extensions oneither sideof the door. During the examination or operation, the patientneed not be moved from the original position. After this is completed,the door and mattress section are again raised and held in position bythe projection 25 of the pins 2|, which are moved toward each other bythe handles 22, thereby returning the structure to normal.

To facilitate movement of the bed bodily, rollers 26 are provided foreach of the legs.

Having thus described my invention, i claim:

1. A bed of the character described comprising a frame, mattresssupporting means carried by the frame, a central section extending tothe lower end of the frame hingedly secured to an intermediate portionof said frame for movement to permit access to the lower part of thebody of occupant, stationary sections bridged at their lower ends onlyby said central section for supporting the feet and legs, and legs forsupporting the frame of sufficient length to allow said central sectionto drop down free of the floor.

2. A bed of the character described comprising an elongated frame, ahead board at the upper end of said frame, and the lower end of saidframe being open and including fixed laterally extending sections, acoextensive central section disposed between said first sections andhinged at. one end to an intermediate portion of said frame, and meanscarried by said first named sections for supporting said central sectionin horizontal position, whereby to permit it to swing downwardly toprovide ready passage between said first sections and give access to thelower portions of the body of a patient between the first named sectionsfor treatment.

3. A bed of the character described comprising a frame having lowerlateral sections, a substantially coextensive central section positionedbetween said lateral sections and hinged to an intermediate portion ofsaid frame, the lower end of said frame being open, legs for supportingsaid frame and of sufficient height to permit said central section toswing downwardly to provide ready passage between said lateral sectionsto the lower body portions of the occupant for treatment, and

means for supporting said. central section in upright position.

STANTON S. MARCHBANKS.

